Complaints Over Her Clothes TV Host Fired On Air in Kuwait

A television presenter in Kuwait was reportedly fired on air, minutes before the live show she was hosting was to end. According to some reports, Amal Al Awadhi may have been let go after state-run Kuwait Television (KTV1) received angry complaints over the clothes she was wearing onair. Ms Al Awadhi took to social media to ask Kuwait’s Ministry of Information for a clarification over what has officially been termed a “suspension”.

Ms Al Awadhi was co-hosting a popular game show called “The Winning Touch” during the holy month of Ramadan. She typically posts multiple pictures of her outfits and behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the daily show on her official Instagram account. The last few photos, from the day she was reportedly fired, feature her in a calf-length white dress. Social media users speculated the dress may have been the cause of her suspension. It was reportedly deemed “inappropriate” for Ramadan by some viewers, reported local media.

Quoting sources, Kuwait’s Arab Times reported the TV presenter had been suspended after repeated warnings. “She had provoked negative reactions during the last few episodes of the show, which led the management of KTV channel to suspend her from the show,” reported Arab Times.

According to StepFeed, Ms Al Awadhi took to Snapchat soon after and said: “I heard someone saying, ‘Take Amal Al Awadhi off air now, or I’ll shut down the channel.'”

“Because my show was airing during Ramadan… I took care of what I wore and how I spoke,” she added.

On Instagram, Ms Al Awadhi wrote she hoped Kuwait’s Ministry of Information would clarify exactly why she was suspended and said she respected the modest dress code imposed on all TV presenters on state TV.

On Ms Al Awadhi’s Instagram page, comments ranged from outrage at her suspension to schadenfreude.

“It’s TV, it’s entertainment… If they wanted you to dress up differently, why did they not say that before the program started, before you went live?” wondered one person.

“You got fired for that outfit? Are you kidding me? That’s disgraceful. This is 2018 and men who are still treating women like this need to get a grip on reality. I’m really sorry this happened to you and I hope you are fighting this! And for the record, you look gorgeous,” commented another.

“Good you’re suspended… you know that it’s Ramadan and you don’t respect us,” wrote a third.

Basima Al-Shammar, a television news anchor in Kuwait was suspended last month after she called a male colleague “handsome” on air. According to media reports, her casual comment was interpreted as “flirtatious” by some. The journalist, however, defended her remark as “routine” and says the furore over it left her confused.